Flash

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3DCT

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PowerPoint

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Click the link and open or save the slide to your computer. Upon opening the file, if you see a RED X, click the OPTIONS box on your security warning and select ENABLE THIS CONTENT. Then start the slide show to enable the 3D view. Rotate the model by holding the LEFT click button and dragging with your mouse. Zoom in and out by holding the RIGHT click button and dragging your mouse up and down. Translate the model by holding both RIGHT and LEFT buttons and dragging your mouse. All 3DCT models are not shown to scale. Experiment your viewing experience by clicking the MENU button and turning various options on and off.

KNM-WT 17000

Nickname: The Black Skull

Date of Discovery: 1985

Discovered by: Alan Walker

Age: About 2.5 million years old

Fossil Name: KNM-WT 17000

Location of Discovery: West Turkana, Kenya

This skull didn’t start out black – it was white, like all other bones in living animals. KNM-WT 17000 or the ’Black Skull’ only got its dramatic dark color after millions of years of sitting in a manganese-rich soil and absorbing minerals as it fossilized.

This nearly complete fossilized cranium has a face that projects far outward from the forehead, widely flaring zygomatic arches, and the largest sagittal crest of any early human. Though some of the individual’s front teeth fell out and others were broken off after death, molar and premolar roots in the jaw indicate that this early human would have also had massive cheek teeth; all of these features are adaptations for heavy chewing.

Because of the sagittal crest and the skull’s small cranial capacity (410cc), researchers originally classified the ’Black Skull’ as Paranthropus boisei - but further comparison showed more similarities to Australopithecus afarensis. This mosaic of features led scientists to assign the specimen to a new species: Paranthropus aethiopicus.

The ’Black Skull’ is the only known adult skull of Paranthropus aethiopicus.